


King's Ransom

by navywife97



Category: The Rookie (TV 2018)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bombing, Drama & Romance, F/M, Family Drama, Intrigue, Mystery, Sex, True Love, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:35:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 20,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26314270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/navywife97/pseuds/navywife97
Summary: Officer Tim Bradford and Officer Lucy Chen have it all...they're engaged, they just finished renovating their new house in Echo Park, they're happily planning their wedding, and trying to have a baby. But it all could come crashing down when Tim is injured, along with Lucy's partner, Officer Grayson Wells, in a bombing. Someone is trying to kill Grayson...and it connects to the father he's long been estranged from, Senator Brian Adams. Grayson must put aside his estrangement and his anger towards his father and find out who's trying to kill them...before it's too late. And the enemy is much closer to home than Grayson or his father realize.
Relationships: Tim Bradford & Lucy Chen
Comments: 32
Kudos: 15





	1. Housewarming

**Author's Note:**

> I was issued another challenge by my writing buddy, PMD...here it is! Hope you enjoy.

Tim and Lucy looked around at their housewarming party and smiled. In just under six months, they had completely rehabbed their house in Echo Park, with the help of many of their colleagues, especially Nolan, and it was now a showplace. They had met several of their neighbors, who had become close friends. Retired Detective Rowan McElroy, and her husband, retired Sgt. Greg Parker, both retired from the LAPD, were thrilled at what Lucy and Tim had done with the place. The house had at one time been owned by Rowan and Greg, and they had many wonderful memories of raising their family there. Lucy whispered into Tim’s ear as he nodded, before she went to join her colleagues, while he bounced a baby girl in his arms, who cooed at him, making him laugh. 

Rowan came up to Tim and smiled. “Well now...who is this lovely little lady?” Tim grinned at Rowan. “Actually, believe it or not, this is Emaline..Emmy for short, and she’s my soon to be sister in law.” Rowan let out a surprised laugh as Greg came over to join them. Emmy was eating up the attention as she looked around with her gorgeous green eyes and saw all the adults smiling at her. Rowan smiled back at her. “Sounds like a very interesting story, Tim.” Greg smiled at Emmy as she reached for his hand. “Interesting story? Do tell?” Tim sighed. “Well, Lucy was adopted when she was a toddler. She found her birth family...and that’s another very long story I’ll save for another time. Anyway, Lucy’s birth parents were high school sweet hearts, and they had Lucy not long after they graduated from high school. They’re still married today, and Emmy here was a very pleasant surprise for Lucy’s parents about five months ago.” Rowan laughed as Emmy then reached for her, and Rowan eagerly took the baby from Tim and hugged her. “Oh wow...that is quite the story! Oh aren’t you just the sweetest little girl...you make me miss my babies when they were little.” 

Just then, Rowan’s youngest son, McElroy, who went by Mac, came up to his parents. “You know you miss us all the time mom.” Rowan rolled her eyes. “I don’t have a chance to miss your brothers and sisters, they’re always visiting us. You on the other hand…” Mac rolled his eyes. The twenty year old was Rowan made over...in every way. He looked like her twin, and definitely had her attitude. “Mom, I’m…” Rowan sighed. “I know, I know, you’re finding yourself. I just wish you had found yourself slightly closer to home.” Mac laughed. “I’m not living in New York permanently.” Greg sipped his beer and eyed his youngest son. “That wouldn’t be because you haven’t been able to take your eyes of Cheyenne all night, would it?” Mac glanced at Tim then, with a horrified expression. “Her dad’s standing right here! Way to put a target on my back, dad.” Tim laughed as he took Emmy back from Rowan. “Relax, Mac. You and Cheyenne already have our blessing to see each other. Besides, it makes me feel better knowing she could wipe the floor with you.” Cheyenne and Mac had met when Tim had invited Rowan and Greg over for dinner one night to see the progress on the house...Mac had been in town visiting and had tagged along. Cheyenne was visiting Tim and Lucy that night as well ans she and Mac had instantly hit it off. Rowan nodded as she sipped her wine. “Makes me feel better too...maybe she can keep you in line, because Lord knows your dad and I never have been able to.” Mac smiled as he hugged his mom. “You’re one to talk...Detective.” Rowan frowned as she looked at Greg. “Don’t either of you dare put me in the middle of this.” 

Cheyenne came up to them just then, and smiled as Mac wrapped his arm around her waist. “Great party, dad! But where’s Grayson? I wanted to introduce him to Mac.” Mac kissed her cheek as Tim shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know...he’s supposed to be here. Maybe Lucy knows where he is.” Tim glanced over at his fiancee, who was busy chatting up their colleagues. Nyla frowned at Lucy. “I can’t believe your partner stood you up for your housewarming party.” Angela frowned as she rubbed her tummy. “Me neither...we never get to stay out late anymore, I was hoping to hang out with him before we have to leave.” Nyla smiled at Angela, as Angela stifled a yawn. “Have you picked out a name yet?” Angela yawned again as Wesley nodded. “Indeed we have. Andrew Grant Evers...he’ll go by Drew.” Nyla smiled even bigger at that. “Oh...I love that name!” Just then someone let out a whoop and they all turned to see Jackson and Sterling dancing in the middle of the living room while Jase recorded it on his cell phone. Nyla rolled her eyes. “He won’t dance with me, but he’ll take pictures and videos of other’s dancing.” Just then, Nyla felt a tug on her arm and laughed as Jase dragged her into the middle of the living room and started dancing with her. Wade and Monica were dancing next to Sterling and Jackson, and soon, other couples joined them.

Just then, John and Grace came over, along with Grayson’s girlfriend, Ruthie, who Grayson had gone through the academy with. Ruthie frowned at Lucy. “Have you heard from Grayson? I’ve tried texting and calling him, and he’s not responding.” Lucy shook her head. “No, I haven’t. Maybe Chey knows something.” Ruthie shook her head at that. “No, I already asked her. Grayson told her he was planning to be here, because we both wanted to meet Mac. I had to work overtime today which is why we were coming separately.” Lucy frowned, and started to text Grayson, but just then, her parents came over. Lucy smiled at them and laughed. “I think Emmy’s the big hit of tonight.” Remy and Amelia laughed as they watched Rowan, Tim, Mac, and Greg all fawning over youngest daughter. Amelia shook her head. “I was hoping to pry her away from them and go put her down...it’s way past her bedtime.” Lucy put her phone back in her pocket and smiled. “I’ll handle it, mama.” 

Lucy walked over and laughed as Emmy squealed when she saw Lucy. Emmy adored Lucy, and though they would never have a typical sister relationship, Lucy was already totally in love with her baby sister, and couldn’t get enough of her. Lucy reached out to take Emmy from Tim as Emmy excitedly kicked her chubby little legs. “Hi you...I see you’ve made some new friends haven’t you sissy?” Lucy kissed her cheek making Emmy giggle. Lucy smiled at Emmy’s fan club. “Sorry guys...I have to steal her from you. Her mama says it’s time for bed.” They all smiled and nodded, and waved as Lucy carried Emmy over to Amelia. As Lucy and Amelia took Emmy upstairs, Lucy’s thoughts drifted back to Grayson, and wondered where he could be.

Grayson was at his house, ignoring the phone calls and texts. He wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone. His phone rang again and he glanced at it...it was Cheyenne. He rolled his eyes, pushing down the guilt. He had promised her he would be at the housewaming party tonight, because Cheyenne really wanted him to meet her new boyfriend. But Grayson was going to have to miss the housewarming party. He frowned at the man that was standing in his kitchen...who was Grayson’s twin, except with salt and pepper hair and a few wrinkles on his face. Grayson sighed as the man looked at him. “I’m not exactly what you want me to do here...sir.” There was no way in hell Grayson was going to call this man father, dad, or anything of the sort. He’d never met the man who had sired him...until tonight, completely out of the blue. Senator Brian Adams frowned at the man who was his son, and sighed, as an awkward silence stretched out before them. “As I said before...I need your help. Someone is trying to kill me.” Grayson rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, that’s obviously a problem. But what do you expect me to do about it Senator? I’m a rookie with the LAPD. I’m a patrol officer. Seems like this would be better handled by a more experienced cop...or the FBI. I could put you in touch with someone at the L.A. office if that would help.” Senator Adams shook his head. “I don’t know who I can trust.” Grayson let out a bitter laugh. “How the hell do you know you can trust me? You don’t even know me...which was your choice by the way.” Senator Adams sighed as he looked at the son he had never known...and wish he had. “It’s not just me that’s in danger here, son…” Grayson slammed his beer bottle down on the counter and pointed at the man standing before him. “No...you don’t get to call me that..ever. You had a chance to be in my life. You said no...several times in fact. That’s fine, no skin of my nose. But you don’t get to waltz into my life after refusing to be a part of it, beg me for help, and think you can call me son. I’m not your son! Are we clear?” Grayson was so enraged that he basically had missed the fact that his father was trying to warn him. Brian sighed as he pulled out what looked to Grayson like a cell phone. “Listen to what’s recorded on that. You can do what you want with it. It was my duty as your father to warn you…” Grayson frowned at him. “Your duties to me ended a long time ago.” Brian shrugged into his overcoat as he prepared to leave. He turned to look at Grayson. “For the record, I loved your mother. I loved you. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to be a part of your lives. Listen to that...I’m not the only one they’re hunting. Someone’s trying to kill you too, Grayson.” With that, Brian turned and walked out of his only son’s house, leaving Grayson standing there, speechless.


	2. Boom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grayson confides in Cheyenne about his dad's visit, but not his girlfriend, much to his surprise. Grayson plans to let the FBI know about the threat against Senator Adams. Two of Senator Adam's daughters aren't thrilled with their father's change of plans concerning his will and the company he owns. Grayson finally meets Cheyenne's boyfriend, and is glad she finally found a good one. And Grayson and Tim answer a call about a suspicious package at a Beverly Hills hotel.

Grayson was sitting on his front step. He had switched to scotch after his father had left. He took a swig from the bottle, shaking his head. Well...someone was definitely trying to kill the Senator alright...or at least they had said they were planning on it. And somehow Grayson had been dragged into this simply because he was the Senator’s son...the son that as far as he knew hardly anyone even knew existed. He sighed as he saw Ruthie’s car pull into his driveway. She turned the car off and got out, shaking her head. She all but slammed the door, and stalked to him. “Really? You’re sitting out here drinking, alone, at night? And can’t even return a damn phone call or text?” Grayson sighed as he looked at her. “I’m sorry...it’s been a hell of a night.” Ruthie frowned as she sat down next to him and took the bottle from him and took a swig. “I’ll get over it. But you do have some apologies to make...Lucy’s worried about you. And Chey was really hurt that you didn’t come to the party.” Grayson rolled his eyes. “She’ll deal.” Ruthie frowned at him even more deeply. “I thought you and Chey were close?” Grayson closed his eyes as he took a deep breath to calm himself down. “We are...but good grief, it’s not like I’ve never met her boyfriends before.” Ruthie let out a soft laugh. “You’ll like this one Gray, I do. Lucy and Tim do.” He sighed and nodded. “I’ll make it up to her...I’ll text her later. But not tonight..I’m really not in the mood for company.” Ruthie reached out and turned his head to force him to look at her. “What’s wrong, Gray? You can talk to me.” Grayson sighed and shook his head. He really liked Ruthie, and they had fun together. She was a great cop, very dedicated to her job, and she was nuts about Grayson. But Grayson had already been burned, badly, by his last relationship, even though it hadn’t lasted long. He had fallen head over heels for Detective Julianna Mancinni, who had promptly broken his heart not long after by moving across the country to take a job in Boston. She was engaged now, and Grayson just couldn’t bring himself to open up to Ruthie as fast as he had to Jules. Ruthie kissed him. “We don’t have to talk. I’ve got to go anyway.” Grayson frowned at her. “You’re still leaving?” Ruthie glared at him. “Yes, I’m still leaving. I’m not missing my friend’s wedding tomorrow night. I invited you to go with me Gray...you said no.” Grayson stood up at that and glared at Ruthie. “No, I didn’t say no, I said I’d need to get the time off. You never gave me a definite answer on that.” Ruthie shook her head. “I invited you Grayson...that should have been definitive enough for you. I’ll only be gone one night. You want to have dinner when I get back?” Grayson nodded as he stepped towards her and kissed her. Ruthie sighed into his mouth as Grayson deepened the kiss. She wrapped his arms around his neck as he wrapped his arms around her waist. She nibbled on his bottom lip before breaking the kiss. “I’ll see you soon, Gray.” Ruthie smiled at him before she walked back to her car. Grayson watched her drive away and sighed. He knew that he and Ruthie weren’t going to last...the spark just wasn’t there, at least for him. But, he did like her, he liked spending time with her, and they clicked in several ways...just not the important ways. 

Grayson went inside and leaned back against the front door as he shut it. He closed his eyes and sighed, wondering how his life had gotten so fucked up. He walked into the kitchen to put the scotch away. He glanced at Sheeba, his Great Pyrenees, who was asleep on his couch. He started to walk to his bedroom when he his cell phone rang. He snagged it off the coffee table and saw that it was Cheyenne. He sighed as he answered the phone. “Hi, kid.” Cheyenne rolled her eyes. “That’s not my name.” A soft smile hit Grayson then...no matter what kind of mood he was in, Cheyenne could always make him smile. “Look...I’m sorry I bailed on the party tonight. Something came up.” Cheyenne frowned as she listened to Grayson. He sounded...different. “Are you ok, Grayson?” He sighed deeply. “What makes you think I’m not ok?” Cheyenne rolled her eyes again. “Because I know you...what’s wrong?” Grayson closed his eyes as he went to lie down on his bed. He didn’t want to get into this with Cheyenne...especially this late at night. “It’s nothing important. Look, I’m really sorry I missed the party. I work tomorrow, but, maybe you and Mac can meet me and Lucy for lunch tomorrow? I really do want to meet him Cheyenne.” Cheyenne smiled into the phone. “Sure! I’ll tell Lucy later.” Grayson frowned. “Why not just go tell her now?” Cheyenne laughed into the phone. “Because I’m pretty sure she and dad are currently in the process of trying to make a baby, like literally as we speak, and I’m not interrupting that.” Grayson chuckled at Cheyenne’s smartass attitude. “Good call.” A long silence stretched out, and Grayson sighed. “Chey...please don’t be mad at me.” Cheyenne sighed as she rolled over on her stomach, scrunching up her pillow. “I’m not mad at you...promise. We were just all worried about you, and I knew you’d answer if I bugged you enough times.” Grayson rolled his eyes as he laid down on his bed. “Oh yeah? How many times were you planning on bugging me tonight?” Cheyenne smiled into the phone. “As many times as it took. Now that we know you’re alive, I’m going to sleep. Later.” Cheyenne disconnected the call before Grayson could say anything. He shook his head and smiled, but the smile quickly fell from his face as he thought of the evening’s events. As he drifted off to sleep, he felt Sheeba jump into the bed with him, and scooted over to make room for her.

Lucy, Grayson, Cheyenne, and Mac had met for lunch at at Popeye’s Chicken...apparently a favorite of Mac’s. Grayson had made sure to make time for this lunch, since he had missed Cheyenne’s birthday party a few weeks ago, and had only made it to one of her volleyball games so far. Grayson had to admit, somewhat grudgingly, after what had seemed to be an endless string of losers, Cheyenne had finally found a decent boyfriend, who seemed to have his head on straight, had ambition, and was determined to do something with his life. And he treated Cheyenne like a queen. Lucy got up to go to the bathroom as Mac stepped outside to take a phone call from his editor. Grayson smiled at Cheyenne. “I like him, Chey. About time you found a good one to date instead of all the losers you kept introducing me to.” Cheyenne rolled her eyes. “We’re not all as lucky as you, Grayson.” Grayson glanced out the window. “Pretty sure my luck ran out last night.” Cheyenne frowned at him. “What?” Grayson shook his head. “Nothing...never mind.” Just then, Mac came back into the restaurant, a grim look on his face. He stuck his hand out to Grayson, and Grayson took it. They shook hands as Mac siged apologetically. “Nice to meet you Grayson, heard a lot of good things about you. Chey...baby, I’m sorry, I’ve got to get back to mom and dad’s. My editor needs me to make some changes to the piece I just submitted, and I have to get it to her in the next hour.” Cheyenne smiled at Mac and jumped up to kiss him. “That’s ok babe. I’ll come with you.” Mac shook his head. “No, no, you stay and finish lunch. Grayson could you guys give her a ride back to her dad’s?” Grayson shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t see why not.” Mac smiled his thanks before hurrying off. 

Lucy meanwhile had gotten a call from Tim and had waved at Grayson and Cheyenne as she stepped outside to talk to him. Cheyenne looked back at Grayson and frowned. “Ok...spill it.” Grayson rolled his eyes as he sipped his coke. “Spill what?” Cheyenne shook her head as she finished her lunch. “Just tell me Grayson. I know something’s bugging you.” Grayson stared at Cheyenne. She always somehow knew whenever he tried to keep anything to himself. She knew him better than anyone it seemed. Wondering how she managed to pull that off he sighed. “I haven’t told Lucy yet, so don’t go running your mouth.” Cheyenne nodded as she glanced over her shoulder at Lucy before looking back at Grayson. “I promise. Now what is it?” Grayson sighed as he wiped his mouth off with a napkin. “My father came to see me last night.” Cheyenne gasped in shock at that. “I thought you didn’t know who he was?” Grayson shook his head. “I never said that. I said I never met him. I’ve always known who he is.” Cheyenne reached for Grayson’s hand as she shot him a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry, Grayson. That had to have been a shock. No wonder you didn’t come to the party last night. What did he want?” Grayson appreciated that Cheyenne hadn’t referred to his sperm donor as dad or anything of that nature. “I can’t really get into that here.” Cheyenne just nodded, as Lucy came back inside and walked back to their table. She glanced around for Mac. “Where’s your boyfriend, Chey?” Cheyenne sighed as she sipped her coke. “He had to go, can you guys give me a ride back to your house?” Lucy nodded as Grayson stood up and collected their lunch trash. He tossed it into the garbage as they all walked back to the patrol car. 

Meanwhile in San Francisco, in an office high rise that overlooked the San Francisco Bay, Caroline, Andrea, and Elizabeth Adams were seated in Andrea’s office. They had been arguing about their father, Senator Brian Adams, for the last two hours. 

Andrea sighed as she looked at her sisters. “It’s dad’s decision, not ours. You two need to respect his decision. And it’s not like if the will is changed any of us will be poor. For God’s sake, dad is worth over five billion dollars. Who cares if he wants to cut our long lost bro into the will?” Caroline was staring out the window into the bay, watching the white caps on the water and wishing she was anywhere but where she was. While she loved her sister Elizabeth, she hated Andrea. They had never seen eye to eye on anything. She whirled around from the window and stalked to her sister’s desk. “I care Andrea! Elizabeth cares! That’s our money! Christ, we built dad’s company into the empire that it is today! He owes us for everything we did for him!” Andrea closed her eyes, struggling to hold onto her patience. “We might have built the company up...dad’s political career was all him. He’s only got a year left, at most, and you really want to spend the last year of his life fighting with him over money?” Caroline threw her crystal glass that contained what Andrea knew was vodka across the room and shattered it as it slammed into the office wall. “I don’t give a damn how long he has left! He decides out of the blue to tell us about his long lost son...a son I might add that he had after he was already married to mom...and expects us to just welcome this lowlife into the family? Into the family fortune? I won’t have it! If he changes his will about the assets he’s leaving to us, you know he’ll try to bring this son of his into the company as well.” Andrea glanced at her other sister, Elizabeth, who nodded. “He will Andrea. Are you prepared to let some stranger into the company?” 

The company that the sisters had helped build was the world’s largest luxury hotel chain. They ran it without him now that he had a political career. Andrea sighed. “You two don’t even know if this man that dad claims is our brother will even want to be a part of this company. He’s a police officer isn’t he? Seems like he’s already got a career of his own.” Caroline laughed and looked at Andrea as she shook her head. “Don’t be stupid, Andrea. Why would he want to stick with a job like being a cop when he could have something like this? This is our company not his, and dad should have given it to us totally already. This is our empire...and we deserve it. You’re dad’s favorite, you always have been. If you talk to him, he’ll give us this empire, completely, and then he won’t have a say in it.” Before Andrea could say anything, Elizabeth quietly spoke up. Out of the three of them, Elizabeth was the quiet one...but she was also the sneaky one, and the most cold blooded. “Caroline...empires aren’t freely given. They’re taken...you want the empire, you have to kill the king.” Andrea and Caroline gasped as Elizabeth smiled a chilling smile that made Andrea’s blood run cold...but it lit a fire inside Caroline’s veins. Andrea looked at Elizabeth and felt sick to her stomach. “Lizzie...what have you done?”

Grayson and Lucy had just pulled out of Popeye’s Chicken, and headed for Tim and Lucy’s house. He sighed as he glanced at Lucy...best to get this over with. “Yo...are you and Bradford still friends with that FBI chic...the one that’s dating Sgt. Grey?” Lucy smiled at him and nodded her head. “Yep...she’s one of Tim’s best friends, and she’s really taken right now, Grayson.” Grayson rolled his eyes. “I’m not asking you about her because I want to date her, Chen. I need to see her, ASAP. It’s official business.” Lucy frowned at him. “I can call her right now...what’s up?” Grayson told her the story, and Lucy’s mouth fell open. “You’re telling me your father is Senator Brian Adams? And he thinks someone’s trying to kill him?” Grayson nodded. “Yeah...in a nutshell.” Lucy immediately got her cell phone out and placed a call to Monica. Monica wasn’t availible, so Lucy had left her a message. They were about to leave the downtown area when their police radio cackled to life. “7-Adam-10, we have a report of a suspicious package at the Beverly Hills Hilton.” Lucy sighed as she glanced back to Cheyenne. Grayson looked at Lucy. “What do you want to do here, Chen?” Lucy looked back at Grayson. “We’ll take the call, it’s probably nothing. They had four suspicious packages last week that all turned out to be nothing.The manager there is a little paranoid.” Grayson nodded and picked up the radio. “7-Adam-10 responding, ETA 4 minutes.” Lucy looked back to Cheyenne. “You stay in this car and do not get out for any reason, understand?” Cheyenne nodded eagerly as Lucy rolled her eyes. Grayson glanced in the rear view mirror and hid his smile. “She wants to be a cop, Chen, think of this as a really quick ride along.” Lucy glared at Grayson. “That’s all it better be, Tim will kill me if even one hair on her head is out of place.” 

Lucy groaned as she and Grayson pulled up to the hotel. Apparently, Tim and Nolan had also been in the vicinity and had also responded to the call. Tim frowned at Grayson and Lucy as they parked their shop and got out, when he saw Cheyenne in the back seat of the patrol car. “What’s she doing here?” Lucy put on her brightest smile. “She’s fine, we were just giving her a ride home when we got the call.” Tim sighed. “Fine...you and Nolan stay here with her, and then once we wrap this call up, you guys take her back to the house. Wells, with me.” Tim left no room for argument as he and Grayson walked towards the entrance. They walked inside the building and went to the front desk and began talking to the manager. Lucy let Cheyenne out of the back of the patrol car. Nolan frowned at Lucy. “Is Bradford mad at you?” Lucy rolled her eyes. “I don’t think so...maybe. He’ll be fine.” Cheyenne rolled her eyes, and Nolan couldn’t help but grin at her. “If dad gives Lucy a hard time, I’ll handle it. They were just giving me a ride home.” Nolan nodded as Lucy felt her cell phone vibrate. She fished it out of her pocket. “Monica? Hi...thanks for calling me back.” Lucy glanced towards the entrance but didn’t see Tim or Grayson anymore. She was about to say something into the phone with the explosion knocked her, Nolan and Cheyenne to the ground.


	3. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim and Grayson are caught inside the Beverly Hills Hotel when an explosion hits the hotel, decimating it. Tim isn't seriously injured, but Grayson is. Tim works to save Grayson's life and evacuate them from the hotel before the building collapses. Senator Adams is killed in the explosion, and Tim wonders what Senator Adams' connection is to the explosion...and to Grayson.

Lucy got up, dazed, and stared at what used to be the Beverly Hills Hotel. Now about half of it was still standing...the other half was a pile of rubble. Her eyes widened in horror as she looked at the ruined building. “Oh, God, No...Tim! Grayson!” Lucy started to rush toward where the entrance used to be when she felt a strong pair of hands grab her shoulders. She turned an angry glare on Nolan. “Let me go! We have to help them!” Nolan held Lucy firmly in place. “Lucy...No! We can’t go inside that building, it looks like the rest of it will come down any minute. Besides, you need to take care of Cheyenne.” Lucy glanced at Cheyenne then who was white as a sheet, staring wordlessly at the building. Her voice was barely above a whisper. “Dad’s gone...Grayson’s gone…” Cheyenne crumpled inside herself and began sobbing as Nolan frantically grabbed his radio and yelled into it. “Dispatch this is 07-Adam-15. Mass casualty explosion at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Roll everything you got, we need Fire, EMS, and Police assistance now! Two officers unaccounted for at this time. We need help!” John repeated his message as he stared into the ruined hotel and could only pray that Tim and Grayson had somehow survived the blast. His radio cackled to life as his heart dropped. “All units, all units, code 3, mass casualty explosion at the Beverly Hills Hotel. All units, Fire, and EMS respond.” John was relieved, in some small way, that any and all help was currently racing to the scene. But he looked over at Lucy and Cheyenne who were now holding each other, sobbing into each other’s arms, and knew this call, no matter how it turned out, would be one that stuck with him for the rest of his life. He turned his head as he heard sirens roaring in the distance, and closed his eyes and prayed.

Tim regained consciousness and let out several body wracking coughs. What the hell had happened? He was covered in debris, drywall, fiberglass, glass, and lord knows what else. And his left arm hurt like hell. He quickly took stock of himself and realized that he was still alive, which was good, and nothing seemed to be broken, which was also good. He slowly turned his head and saw a huge chunk of glass sticking out of his bicep. He reached down to the glass and took several deep breaths before slowly pulling it out. “Fuck!” He gritted his teeth against the searing pain and sighed. Well, the good news was the glass was now out of his arm. The bad news was he was now bleeding pretty heavily. He glanced around looking for anything that he could use to staunch the bleeding. He saw a half a roll of duct tape above his head. No idea where it had come from, but, it would do. He grabbed it and wrapped the duct tape around his wound several times before sealing the tape closed around his arm. It still hurt like hell, but, at least it had slowed the bleeding down. He shoved himself out from under the boards and glass and everything else that had clobbered him. He was surprised he hadn’t been crushed to death. 

He knew he was somewhere in the dining room of the hotel...or at least he had been when the explosion had happened. The manager had been at the front desk when he and Wells had walked in, and had led them to the dining room where four large cardboard boxes that were heavily sealed were randomly sitting next to one of the windows. They hadn’t been there that morning, and the manager had no idea where they’d come from. Tim was also surprised to see that Senator Brian Adams had been in the dining room, having coffee with someone, not long before the explosion hit. But what had surprised Tim the most was when Senator Adams had walked up to him and Wells and had acted like he knew Wells. And Wells certainly hadn’t been glad to see the Senator. Tim didn’t believe in coincidences, and knew that the Senator being at the hotel and the explosion were somehow connected. He also knew that Wells knew something about it. Speaking of Wells...Tim coughed again as he looked around the burning building, but he didn’t see Wells anywhere. Tim struggled to his feet and began slowly walking around, looking for his fellow police officer. “Wells! Wells! Call out if you can!” Tim was slowly making his way through the rest of the dining room as he looked for Grayson.

Lucy put Cheyenne back in her patrol car as she looked at the sea of police cars, ambulances, fire trucks, and even FBI vehicles that were now flooding the street. She was about to call out to Sgt. Grey when she felt her cell phone vibrate. She fished it out and prepared to turn the phone off when she gasped. The call was from Tim...somehow his super expensive cell phone had survived the blast and was actually working. Lucy quickly answered the phone. “Tim! Tim, OH MY GOD, please tell me you’re ok baby, please!” Tim’s voice was raspy as he choked through the smoke that was quickly filling the building. “I’m ok babe...no major injuries. I can’t find Wells anywhere. Look, I need you to get this info to the right people ASAP.” Lucy instantly went on alert as she heard the urgency in Tim’s voice. “What is it?” Tim choked again as he struggled to get the words out. “Senator...Adams...he was inside, in the dining room of the hotel, when the explosion happened.” Lucy gasped. “Oh My God! I bet that has something to do with what Grayson told me earlier.” Tim frowned at that. But Lucy interrupted him before he could ask her what she was talking about. “Cheyenne’s ok...just terrified. She needs to hear your voice baby.” Lucy yanked open the door to the patrol car and shoved the phone into Cheyenne’s hand. Cheyenne put the phone up to hear ear as her voice trembled. “Daddy?” Tim closed his eyes and willed back the tears at the sound of his daughter’s terrified voice. “I’m ok, sweetie...just some scratches and bumps and bruises, nothing major. I’m ok, and I’ll get out of the building as soon as I can. Put Lucy back on the phone please, now, it’s important.” Tim wanted Cheyenne off the phone before she had a chance to ask about Grayson. Lucy took the phone from Cheyenne as Cheyenne sobbed...this time with relief. Lucy wrapped her arm around Cheyenne as she talked to Tim. “Monica’s here, I’ll pass along the info. Keep me updated about the other thing. I love you.” Tim felt himself getting lightheaded, but he ignored it...he had to find Grayson. “I love you too, babe.” He disconnected the call and went on the hunt for Grayson. It didn’t take him long to find him. 

Monica and Sgt. Grey went running up to Lucy and Nolan. Before either of them could say anything, Lucy started talking, as she pulled them away from Cheyenne, out of her earshot, hopefully. “I just got a call from Tim. He’s ok and accounted for.” Sgt. Grey and Monica sighed with relief as Lucy glanced over her shoulder and saw Cheyenne eyeing her. Lucy quickly told them the rest. “Tim is looking for Grayson...he hasn’t found him yet.” Sgt. Grey swore as Lucy got the rest out. “We’ve got a bigger problem than just a missing officer.” Monica frowned at that as did Sgt. Grey. “What are you talking about, Officer Chen?” Lucy sighed as she looked at Sgt. Grey. “Tim told me that just before the explosion happened, he saw Senator Adams in the dining room having coffee with someone.” This time, Monica closed her eyes and swore. “Fuck. This just became my case, and I really freaking hate bombings.” Lucy sighed as Monica eyed her. “What else could there possibly be, Officer Chen? Why do I get the feeling this is about to get worse?” Lucy blinked back the tears she was struggling to control. “Because it is. In a nutshell, my partner, Officer Wells, just told me that Senator Adams is his father. Senator Adams came to visit him last night and told them someone was trying to kill the both of them.” Monica swore again, a lot. She traded a grim look with Sgt. Grey. Things had definitely gone from worse to totally fucked up.

By now, Sgt. Grey was surrounded by his officers, and EMS workers, as the firefighters were working to put out the fires that they could see and stabilize the building. “Ok...listen up! We have two officers currently inside the Beverly Hills Hotel. One of them, Officer Bradford, is accounted for and doesn’t appear to be seriously injured. Our other officer, Officer Wells, is currently unaccounted for. This is now the FBI’s case to investigate. I want my officers on crowd control, and directing traffic away from this area. As soon as the building is safe, we will help fire evacuate the building. Move!” After Sgt. Grey finished barking out his orders, he saw Cheyenne, who was shaking like a leaf. He looked at Lucy. “I think you, Officer Chen, need to stay with her. I’m sure Monica will want to question her.” Monica nodded. “Let me go talk to her before I do anything else, and then Officer Chen can take that girl out of here, she doesn’t need to be around all of this.” Sgt. Grey agreed as he left to go set up a command post in the parking lot across the street from the hotel. Lucy went back to a trembling Cheyenne, who looked tearfully up at Lucy. “Grayson’s missing, mumsy?” Lucy sadly nodded as she wrapped Cheyenne in her arms. “Don’t you worry sweetie. Your dad will find him.” Lucy closed her eyes praying that Tim didn’t make a liar out of her. She opened her eyes and glanced around at the activity that was swarming around her. She hugged Cheyenne tightly to her as she felt the girl’s body shaking harder and harder with every sob.

Tim had found what remained of a housekeeping cart and grabbed several rags from it. He tied one of the rags around the bottom half of his face as he continued to look for Wells. He was almost to the kitchen now, when he saw Grayson’s legs sticking out haphazardly from a table. “Shit! Wells!” Tim climbed over debris and finally made it to Grayson. He looked at the table and everything that was on top of it and closed his eyes and prayed...Grayson had been thrown several feet apparently, and who knows how hard everything had landed on top of him. Tim carefully pulled the debris away and uncovered Grayson. Grayson was bleeding heavily from several areas, including a gaping wound in his chest. Tim grabbed the rags he had stuffed in his pocket and pressed down on Grayson’s chest wound. Grayson’s eyes shot open, much to Tim’s relief. Grayson groaned as the white hot pain flooded through him. Tim grabbed the duct tape he had stuffed into his shirt and taped the rags to Grayson’s chest. “Sorry, bud. This is really going to suck for you, but we have to get out of here...the building is on fire, and it could collapse.” Grayson let out a weak breath. “The….Senator….” Tim glanced around the dining room, and Grayson saw him grimace. Tim looked back at him and shook his head. “I’m sorry, Wells. He’s gone.” Tim glanced back in the direction of the Senator, and then back at Grayson. A memory flashed in Tim’s mind...and suddenly he was back in Afghanistan, tending to one of his fellow soldiers, who’d driven right over an IED. Grayson wasn’t in as bad of shape as Tim’s buddy had been...but he was close. Tim’s soldier had died in his arms. Tim wasn’t about to let one of his fellow police officers meet the same fate as his soldier had. 

Tim looked into Grayson’s eyes. “Ok...on 3, we’re getting out of here...and it’s really going to fucking hurt. But it’s going to hurt even more if you burn to death or if the building falls on top of you. You ready?” Grayson gave a slight nod, which hurt like hell. “Let’s roll, Bradford.” Tim nodded...and didn’t go on 3. He pulled Grayson to a sitting position as Grayson yelled in pain. Tim ignored Grayson’s yelling and swearing as Tim stood up, and hauled Grayson to his feet. Pain zinged up Tim’s arm but he blocked that out too. He glanced frantically over his shoulder as part of the ceiling caved in. They had to get out of there, now. Tim threw a badly wounded Grayson over his shoulder, and began making his way to what used to be a large, arched window. All he knew was that he could see daylight through it, which meant there was a way out...and he was going for it.

Lucy was holding Cheyenne in her arms as Monica questioned her. “So, Cheyenne, Officer Wells didn’t tell you what proof he has that led him to believe the Senator was in danger?” Cheyenne shook her head. “No, he never told me any of that part, he just told me that he had met his father.” Monica frowned as Lucy looked at her. “That’s why I was calling you this morning, Monica. Grayson had asked me to get in touch with you. We were going to try and meet you today and give you whatever it was that he had. Our intention was just to go by your office after we dropped Cheyenne off at my house...but then we got the call about a suspicious package at the hotel.” Monica nodded as she grabbed Lucy’s hand. “You and Officer Wells didn’t do anything wrong here, Lucy. This is just a very unfortunate set of circumstances. I do need to find out though what it is that Officer Wells was going to give me.” Lucy nodded, just as Cheyenne cried out and jumped out of her arms. She went sprinting up the sidewalk as Lucy turned to see what had grabbed Cheyenne’s attention. Lucy put her hand over her mouth and sobbed with relief. There was Tim, covered in all kinds of crap, slowly emerging from the side of the building, with a bleeding, unconscious Grayson slung over his shoulder.


	4. Fighter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grayson is gravely wounded in the explosion, and is fighting for his life in the hospital while the team waits for word on his condition. Andrea realizes her family is probably behind the explosion at the Beverly Hills Hotel and realizes that while Grayson fights for his life, she must find the strength to fight her family for what's right.

Everyone gasped as they saw Tim with blood pouring down his left arm, determinedly carrying a very badly injured Grayson away from the building. One of the firefighters spotted them and got to them first. “We need some help over here, now!” The firefighter, whose name was Mike Reno, grabbed Grayson from Tim’s shoulders just as two paramedics rushed over with their equipment. Tim recognized his sister, Paramedic Sydney Phelps, and her partner, Paramedic Hailey Dunn. The firefighter lay an unconscious Grayson on the stretcher as Sydney grabbed her brother and hugged him. “You ok, bro?” He nodded. “I’ll live, but Wells is in bad shape.” Hailey was already working on Grayson and looked at Sydney. “We’ve got to go...now, or we’re going to lose him.” Sydney nodded as they rushed Grayson to the nearest ambulance. 

Cheyenne ran up to Tim and all but clobbered him. He winced in pain as he grabbed her and hugged her tightly. “I’m ok, Chey.” Cheyenne cried as she hugged him harder...then she saw Grayson being loaded into the ambulance. “Oh no...Grayson.” Tim glanced at the ambulance and then at Cheyenne. He wanted her as far away from this scene as she could get. He shoved her towards the ambulance. “You go with him, Chey. Lucy and I won’t be far behind..I’ve got to get my arm sown up.” Cheyenne nodded and kissed Tim’s cheek before she ran to the ambulance and jumped inside. It sped off seconds later with it’s lights on and sirens on full blast. 

Lucy came running up to Tim then and threw her arms around him. She kissed him frantically as he kissed her back just as frantically. “Oh baby, I was so scared. When we heard that explosion and then I saw half the building fall almost right where you and Grayson had been standing...I thought that was it. I thought I had lost you.” Lucy buried her face in his chest and cried loudly as Tim wrapped her tightly in his arms. “I’m right here, Boot. You should have known you can’t get rid of me that easily...a walk in the park.” Lucy glanced up at him, shaking her head, as Tim rested his brow against hers. “I sent Cheyenne to the hospital with Wells. Luce…” Lucy looked at Tim as he sadly looked back down at her. He sighed as he told her the bad news. “Luce...he was badly injured. He had a hole in his chest the size of a freaking golf ball. I’m not sure he’s going to make it.” Lucy closed her eyes and sobbed into Tim’s chest as he held her. 

Sgt. Grey and Monica came walking up to Tim then. Sgt. Grey frowned at Tim. “Well, I was going to say my girlfriend here needs to question you, but that can wait. You’re bleeding all over my favorite rookie, Officer Bradford. Get the hell out of here and get treated, and then my girlfriend can question you.” Lucy pulled out of Tim’s embrace as Monica grabbed Tim in a hard hug, making him wince. “I’m glad you didn’t get dead. Text me which hospital you’re at. I’ve got a lot of crap I need to do here first.” Tim sighed as Sgt. Grey looked at Lucy. “Your shift is over, Officer Chen. Go get your cranky fiance sown up. I’ll keep both of you updated on all of this.” He glanced around at the snarled traffic, the decimated building, and the dozens and dozens of personnel on the scene. This was going to be another very long shift.

Cheyenne was running alongside Grayson’s gurney as he was rushed through the doors of the ER at Cedars-Sinai. She looked down at Grayson who’s eyes were open, but glassy. She tightly gripped his hand. “You hold on Grayson, damn you! Don’t you dare bail on us now!” She thought she felt a slight twitch in his hand that was in hers, but she didn’t know for sure. She heard the paramedics shouting out his vital signs and conditions to the doctors and nurses who had met them as they rushed through the doors to the ER, but she ignored what they were saying. She was still looking at Grayson. “Grayson! Open your eyes! You stay right with me! Grayson!” She kept yelling at him, and as Grayson faded in and out of consciousness, he latched onto the sound of her voice, and held onto it as tightly as he could.   
They were all running down hallways and turning this way and that way until they finally reached an operating room. Sydney stopped and grabbed Cheyenne. “This is as far as you can go, Chey.” Cheyenne nodded and let go of Grayson’s hand, and her heart dropped as his hand dropped. He had become the best friend she’d ever had, and it would kill her to lose him. She stood outside the doors to the room he’d been taken into and looked helplessly through the window in the door. “You have to pull through Grayson...you just have to.” Tears poured down her face as the doctors and nurses worked frantically to save his life. 

Sydney came out of the room several minutes later with her partner Hailey. They both looked at Cheyenne, clearly impressed. Sydney raised her eyebrow at Cheyenne.“You know...you held it together better than a lot of adults I’ve seen in this same situation. You kept your head in a crisis, Cheyenne, and I’ve seen you do it before. You ever think of becoming a first responder?” Cheyenne looked at Sydney and Hailey and nodded her head. “Yep...I want to be a cop, for the LAPD, just like my dad, and Grayson.” Sydney smiled at that, and nodded approvingly. Then she saw Cheyenne’s bottom lip tremble. Cheyenne glanced into the room and then back at Sydney. “Is he going to make it?” Sydney sighed and decided to be honest with her. “His chances aren’t great, Chey. He took a lot of shrapnel from the explosion right into his chest. But...most people would have died instantly from that. Grayson seems to be one hell of a fighter. I’d put my money on him, because most people wouldn’t have survived this long with the wounds he has. I think he’ll make it...not because his chances are good, but because of who he is.” Cheyenne nodded, willing her tears away. Sydney led her to some chairs. “Let’s sit here while we wait for your dad.” Cheyenne nodded as she glanced back towards the room Grayson was in. He just had to make it...he just had to.

As Monica and her team and the LAPD were working the explosion scene, and as Tim, Lucy, and Cheyenne were at the hospital waiting for word on Grayson, Andrea Adams was in her office. She had just seen on the news that her father had been killed in an explosion at the Beverly Hills Hotel, and that an LAPD officer was currently in a hospital fighting for his life. She had no doubt that her older sister, Elizabeth was somehow behind all of this. She knew she had to get in touch with the proper authorities but she also knew she’d have to do it discreetly or she could be next. She sighed as her younger sister, Caroline, entered her office. Caroline closed the door and flopped down into the nearest chair. “Well, this is a fine mess that Lizzie has gotten us into.” Andrea looked at her sister as if she were a stranger. “A mess? You call this a mess? Our sister just killed who knows how many people, including our father, and you call it a mess?” Caroline got up and stormed over to Andrea and smacked her across the face, causing Andrea to gasp in pain and surprise. “Yeah, it’s a mess. Oh, what...you actually miss daddy? What the hell kind of father was he to us? He was never home, he was always gone...off with his whores or touring the country with his damn campaigns. He wasn’t a father!” Caroline eyed her sister as Andrea cringed under her evil glare. “You better get on board with this, and keep your trap shut sissy. I don’t approve of Lizzie’s methods, but at least she got the problem taken care of. You fuck this up for us, and she’ll come after you next!” Caroline stormed out of the office as Andrea buried her face in her hands and cried. 

Cheyenne felt a gentle shake of her shoulders as Tim crouched down in front of her. “Chey...wake up.” Cheyenne frowned as she sleepily rubbed her eyes and her sore neck. She’d fallen asleep in the hospital waiting room as everyone had waited to find out Grayosn’s condition. She glanced around in surprise and saw almost everyone her dad worked with. They were all smiling, some crying as well, with relief. She sat up and looked at her dad...who was smiling. “He made it through the surgery, Chey. It was touch and go there for a while, but Grayson pulled through. He’s going to make it. Six months or so, he should be back on full duty.” Cheyenne threw her arms around Tim’s shoulders and cried with relief. She pulled back and looked at Tim. “Can I see him?” Tim nodded. “Yeah...but only for a few minutes. He needs to rest, and you need to get home and get some dinner...don’t you have homework to do also?” Cheyenne nodded, though homework was the last thing on her mind. Tim stood up as she did, and led her to Grayson’s hospital room. They walked inside as a nurse was checking his vitals. Tim looked at Chey. “Five minutes...then we’re leaving.” Cheyenne nodded as he walked out of the room. The nurse smiled at her. “His vitals are strong honey...especially given everything he’s been through. He’s going to be just fine.” Cheyenne tearfully nodded at that as the nurse left the room. She didn’t know exactly what his injuries were or what his condition was...all she knew was that he was going to be ok, and she held onto that. She closed her eyes with relief as she heard a groan. She opened her eyes and saw Grayson looking at her. He had a tube down his throat and he couldn’t talk, but he was staring right at her. She scooted closer to him and picked up his hand. She felt his fingers weakly wrap around her hand and smiled at him. “I know what you’re thinking...and that’s not my name.” She saw his eyes crinkle at the sides they way they always did when he was smiling, or tried to smile. “I’ll come visit you as often as I can. And I’ll take care of Sheeba for you until you’re home ok? I know Ruthie doesn’t like her, and dad and mumsy already said Sheeba can stay at their house until you’re better.” Grayson slightly nodded his head, as a tear leaked out of his eye. Cheyenne bent over and kissed his cheek where the tear was. “I’m really glad you’re not dead, Grayson. That really would have pissed me off.” She squeezed his hand again as she heard a knock on the door. “That’s probably dad. I have to go, but I’ll be back as soon as I can.” She squeezed his hand one last time before she gently rested it on his hospital bed. Grayson drifted off to sleep as Cheyenne left the room.


	5. Guardian Angel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monica is working herself to death trying to solve the case which worries Sgt. Grey. An attempt is made on Grayson as he recovers in the hospital...and once again, it's his guardian angel, Cheyenne, who comes to his rescue. Tim and Cheyenne show that they make one heck of a great team.

Monica was just leaving the hospital and it was close to midnight. She had phoned Grayson’s surgeon and had told him to preserve everything he pulled out of Grayson’s chest, which he had done. She had collected the evidence and was going to drop it off to forensics tomorrow. Unless she somehow missed her guess, and she rarely did, she’d bet a good bit of the shrapnel pulled from his chest would help lead them to whoever had planted those bombs. But why had they planted them at the Beverly Hills Hotel? And how did Senator Adams and Officer Grayson Wells tie into this? And did the fact that apparently Officer Wells was the illegitimate son of the Senator play a factor here? Her head was spinning as she walked to her car. There were so many unknowns in this case, and right now she couldn’t make any sense of it. She reached her car and was soon driving towards her apartment. She was so thankful Tim hadn’t been seriously injured, and she was just as thankful that Grayson was going to make it. She sighed with relief as she pulled into her parking garage. She pulled into her parking space and turned her car off. She was bone tired, and the thought of dinner didn’t make her near as happy as the thought of a hot shower did. But she was so tired, she wanted the extra hour of sleep she’d get if she went straight to bed instead of taking a shower first.

She walked into her apartment, and sighed with relief as she shut the door. She frowned as she heard her tv blaring from her bedroom. She walked wearily towards her bedroom and stopped when she saw Wade already in bed, watching tv. She shook her head and smiled as she walked to her closet. She toed off her shoes as she set her purse and briefcase on the floor. Then she unstrapped her weapon and put it in the small gun safe she kept in her closet. She quickly shed her clothes before climbing wearily into bed with Wade. Wade frowned down at Monica as she snuggled up to him. “Did you eat?” Monica sighed. “If you count cold Mcdonalds leftover from lunch as eating, then yes, I did.” He rolled his eyes as he leaned down to kiss her. “I don’t really count that as eating, but, I guess it’s better than nothing. I stopped at Tony’s on the way over...there’s chicken alfredo in the fridge for you.” Monica sighed contentedly as she thought of her favorite dish from her favorite Italian restaurant. But, she was simply too tired to eat. “I’ll save it for dinner tomorrow night.” As she snuggled into Wade she looked at the tv as the reporter was recapping the news story that had dominated the nightly news that evening. “Once again, our hearts and prayers go out to the family of Senator Brian Adams, who was killed today in a bombing at the Beverly Hills Hotel, as well as the LAPD officer whose condition remains critical. Stay with KTLA as we continue to bring you live updates on this developing story.” Monica stared at the tv as she watched footage of the hotel, with LAPD, LAFD, and FBI personnel swarming the scene. Monica had questioned Tim at the hospital, and she had an idea of where to start looking for the person responsible for the Senator’s death. Wade tilted her face up to his. “You’re working too hard babe.” He frowned down at her as Monica sighed and nodded. “I know...maybe next time we take time off at the same time and plan a real vacation and get the hell out of here for a while.” Wade smiled at that suggestion, obviously agreeing with it. He grabbed the remote and turned the tv off. He set the remote on the nightstand and leaned down to kiss Monica. She sighed into the kiss, and it went on and on. They snuggled down into the bed together, and before Wade knew it, Monica had fallen fast asleep in his arms. 

Cheyenne was as strong willed as Tim was, maybe worse, so it had surprised no one when she had gone back to the hospital, against Tim and Lucy’s wishes, and basically camped out in Grayson’s hospital room. Tim had finally gotten in touch with Ruthie, Grayson’s girlfriend, about what had happened, but the soonest she could get back to L.A. was tomorrow. Cheyenne didn’t want Grayson to be by himself and she knew he had no family, so, she had taken it upon herself to remain by his side until Ruthie arrived back in L.A. Mac had been with her earlier and had brought her food, but he had to catch a flight back to New York City. Cheyenne had a feeling as crazy as she was about Mac, that her relationship with him wasn’t going to work. His life was in New York City, and he kept trying to convince her to move out there with him. But she wanted him to move back to Los Angeles where both of them had family...she couldn’t imagine being back on the east coast, not after everyone and everything she had found here in L.A.

Cheyenne was busily typing away on her laptop, putting the finishing touches on a paper for her psychology class when the door to Grayson’s room opened. A woman Cheyenne didn’t recognize walked in and looked surprised that Cheyenne was in the room. Cheyenne frowned at her, immediately suspicious. She knew all of the nurses that had been assigned to Grayson and she’d never seen this woman before. The woman was dressed like a nurse, but, still...something about her put Cheyenne on alert. Cheyenne closed her laptop as she stood up and set it down in the chair she’d been sitting in. She stalked over to Grayson’s hospital bed and stood in front of it, effectively blocking the woman’s approach. Cheyenne crossed her arms and looked at the woman defiantly. “May I help you?” The woman frowned at Cheyenne. “I’m just here to give Mr. Wells his nightly meds.” Cheyenne eyed the syringe in the woman’s hands, and frowned at her even more deeply. Grayson was hooked up to several different IV’s’s which were giving him his meds and fluids to keep him hydrated. They’d all been replaced about an hour ago. Cheyenne knew that because she’d been in the room watching the nurses change out his IV’s. Not only that, all the nurses referred to him as Officer Wells, or Grayson...none of them called him Mr. Wells. 

The woman started to move past Cheyenne who blocked her from getting to Grayson. “What’s in that syringe?” The woman whose nametag read Kimberly frowned at Cheyenne. “I told you, it’s his nightly meds...now move aside young lady!” Cheyenne grabbed her cell phone out of her pocket and quickly dialed her dad. Thankfully, Tim happened to be just down the hallway. He had come to the hospital to bring Cheyenne some more food and a book she’d forgotten that she needed for one of her homework assignments. Tim was walking down the hallway as his cell phone rang. He fished it out of his pocket and frowned when he saw who was calling him. He quickly answered the phone. “Cheyenne?” Cheyenne screamed into the phone. “Dad! Hurry! I need you! I’m in Grayson’s room!” Whatever else she’d been about to say was muffled. Tim started running as he heard Cheyenne scream over the phone.

The woman was trying to shove Cheyenne out of the way, but Cheyenne was much taller than she was, and outweighed her by a good thirty pounds. The woman had murder in her eyes and it sent chills down Cheyenne’s spine. Cheyenne knew that she was the only line of defense to protect Grayson until someone showed up to help them. The woman changed tactics and tried to stab Cheyenne with the syringe...but Cheyenne dodged it. Cheyenne reared back and clocked the woman with a sweet right hook that Grayson had taught her. The woman collapsed to the ground just as Tim bolted into the room. 

Tim frowned at the sight before him. “What the hell is going on in here?” The woman struggled to her feet and tried to escape the room, but Cheyenne tackled her. Tim set everything he was carrying down on the small bedside table that was by Grayson’s hospital bed. He yanked Cheyenne off the woman and calmly set her aside. Then he pulled the woman Cheyenne had been wrestling with to her feet and held her against the wall. Tim frowned at Cheyenne. “Explain...now.” Cheyenne quickly nodded. “That woman claims she was here to give Grayson his nightly meds.” The woman struggling in Tim’s arms yelled and interrupted Cheyenne. “I’m a nurse here, I WAS trying to give Mr. Wells his meds! That young lady went crazy...she even hit me!” She was glaring at Cheyenne who tried to get to her, but Tim blocked Cheyenne. “Whoa! Everyone just calm down. Cheyenne...tell me why you apparently felt the need to protect him from this woman.” Cheyenne caught the fact that Tim had referred to Grayson as him...letting her know that he too had caught the woman’s slip up in how she referred to Grayson. “Dad...I’ve been here since shortly after dinner. I was here when the nurses changed out all of his IV’s. He’s already been given his nightly meds...I know their routine. There’s no reason this woman should be in here!” Tim turned and glared at the woman, as Cheyenne pointed to the syringe on the floor that the woman had dropped in her struggle with Cheyenne. “She was carrying this...I don’t know what’s in it. She tried to give him whatever’s in this syringe. When I stopped her from doing that, she tried to stab me with it!” The woman in Tim’s grasp erupted again. “That’s a lie!” 

Just then, the night charge nurse busted into the room to see what all the commotion was about. “What in the world is going on in here? We can hear you all the way down at the nurse’s station. You can’t be in here if you’re going to act like this...I will not have you disturbing my patient!” Tim looked at the nurse whom he knew. “Judy..I’m sorry. We might have a problem here. Tell me, do you recognize this woman? She claims she’s a nurse here who was supposed to give some medicine to Officer Wells.” Judy turned then and looked at the woman that Tim still had pinned against the wall. Judy gasped and frowned at her. “I’ve never seen this woman before...unless this is her first shift, no, she doesn’t work here!” Tim nodded as he fished out his phone and called Monica. 

About thirty minutes later, Monica had hauled off the woman who claimed to be a nurse named Kimberly, and had taken her down to FBI headquarters for an interrogation. Tim looked at Cheyenne proudly, as she continued working the night away on her laptop. “You know Chey...if you hadn’t been here, that woman would have easily been able to get to Grayson. How did you even know something was wrong?” Cheyenne looked at Tim and grinned. “First of all, like I said, I know the routine for him. He’d already been given his meds for the night shift. Secondly, she called him Mr. Wells.” Cheyenne rolled her eyes at that as Tim grinned. Cheyenne looked at Grayson as she smiled. “He’s definitely not a Mr. anything. Plus, the nurses, and the doctors too, they all call him Officer Wells, or Grayson. You and he both have told me to go with my gut...so I did. I knew something wasn’t right. Plus, the way she was holding that syringe...she looked like she was about to use it as a weapon. I’ve never seen a nurse hold one of those things like she was holding it.” Tim smiled, clearly impressed with how closely Cheyenne apparently paid attention to details, not to mention how brave she was. She hadn’t even thought twice about going toe to toe with some stranger to protect Grayson. Tim sat down beside Cheyenne, and pulled her into his shoulder. “You’re going to make a great cop someday, Chey.” Cheyenne smiled. “Thanks, dad. Don’t you have to get home? It’s like 2am.” Tim shook his head. “Nope...I’m staying right here with you and Wells. How are you not tired? Like you said, it’s almost 2am.” Cheyenne laughed as she rolled her eyes. “Dad...this is early. Usually my friends and I are either playing beach volleyball at this hour, or we’re out getting coffee and studying.” Tim scowled at that as Cheyenne grinned at him. He supposed there were worse things she could be doing. Cheyenne leaned into him and sighed. Tim rubbed her arm up and down as he tried to soothe her. “Were you scared Chey?” Cheyenne thought about it, and nodded. “Maybe a little. I mean, I knew I could take that woman, that wasn’t what scared me. What scared me was that I was the only one that could protect Grayson right at that moment. Failure wasn’t an option...that part scares me. If I had messed up, he could have been hurt, or worse.” Tim sighed...although she was right, it was also a lot of pressure to put on herself. “Grayson’s lucky you were here...and he’s lucky to have a friend like you.” Cheyenne smiled as she glanced at Grayson, who had somehow slept through the entire episode.


	6. Dysfunctional Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sgt. Grey is impressed with how Cheyenne protected Grayson. Monica gets closer to the truth. And Tim and Monica meet Grayson's biological sister, Andrea Adams, who has turned her back on the family she grew up with to save the brother she never knew she had until recently.

Monica was worn out. She’d been interrogating the nurse whose name was definitely not Kimberly all night. Finally the woman, whose real name was Ellen Camry, broke. Monica leaned back in her chair in her office and closed her eyes. Money was the root of all evil, or it mostly was, in Monica’s opinion. Ellen had told her such an outlandish story that Monica actually believed her. Apparently, Senator Brian Adams had stage 4 pancreatic cancer, and had decided before he met his maker he needed to right a few wrongs that he had made in his soap opera of a life. That included getting in touch with the son he had sired out of wedlock, and including that son in his estate. That son apparently was LAPD Officer Grayson Wells. Senator Brian Adams had been cheating on his wife, with Grayson’s mother, who apparently had been Senator Adams’ childhood sweetheart. But Grayson’s mother had come from the wrong kind of family, and Senator Adams’ parents had threatened to cut him off financially if he continued his relationship with her. So he had dumped her, moved on, and married a girl he had gone to college with, but he had never forgotten his long lost love, Jenny. He had rekindled his relationship with her, while still a newlywed. Not long after his wife had gotten pregnant with their first child, Jenny had gotten pregnant with Grayson. The Senator had been ready to leave his wife, and his rising political career, and spend his life with Jenny and their baby. But his parents, and his wife’s powerful family had threatened Jenny, and her baby, and he knew the only way to keep them safe was to abandon both of them. It had broken his heart, and had made for a very unhappy marriage and home life. His daughters had found out about Grayson. And while Andrea had been disappointed in her father, she’d forgiven him for his mistakes, and had given her blessing about welcoming her newfound brother into the family. But her two sisters, Caroline and Elizabeth, had condemned their father...and their brother. And Elizabeth had done whatever she had deemed necessary to protect the family name, and fortune...including murder. But it hadn’t been enough for Elizabeth to get rid of her father. She had wanted to kill Grayson too...because she blamed both of them for the misery her mother had lived in, and the misery she and her sisters had grown up in. Elizabeth had paid Ellen, who was a retired nurse, to sneak into the hospital and attempt to fatally poison Grayson, once Elizabeth had found out he had survived the bombing. She had hired someone else to orchestrate and execute the bombing...it had just been a coincidence that Grayson happened to be one of the police officers who answered that call. Once Elizabeth had discovered he had survived the blast, she realized she had finally found a way to go after Grayson. 

Now that Monica had motive, she had to prove it...and had to catch Elizabeth before another attempt was made on Grayson. But before she did anything, Monica was going to catch a combat nap, as Tim and Jase called them. She got up and walked to her office door and locked it. Then she closed all the blinds in her office, until it was mostly dark, and collapsed back into her office chair. She laid her head down on her desk, and was asleep within a few minutes.

Sgt. Grey had stopped by to see Grayson, and was looking at Cheyenne with a look of pride. “So, Officer Bradford...you’re telling me that your teenage daughter saved my officer over there?” Tim nodded as Sgt. Grey smiled at Cheyenne. “Doesn’t this make the second time you’ve saved him Cheyenne?” Cheyenne laughed and nodded. “Yep. Maybe if he stayed out of trouble, I wouldn’t have to keep saving his ass.” Sgt. Grey laughed as Tim rolled his eyes. Sgt. Grey sighed then. “Well...as much as I’d like to, I can’t keep using your teenage daughter to protect Officer Wells. If someone made an attempt on him here at the hospital, they’ll probably try again. I’m putting guards on his room. Where’s Officer Grace? I’m surprised she’s not here.” Tim sighed as he looked at Grayson. “She’s out of town. She’s supposed to be back sometime today...but sir…” Sgt. Grey frowned as he looked at Tim. “Yes, Bradford...what is it?” Tim didn’t even feel bad for what he was about to say. “Officer Grace is a fine officer, who’s very dedicated to her job. But she’s fresh out of the academy. She’s still finishing up her training…” Sgt. Grey sighed. “I get it, Bradford. I know she and Officer Wells are dating, so, I can’t tell her not to be here, but, I’m not suggesting we use her to guard him.” Tim nodded, relieved that he and Grey were on the same page. Sgt. Grey sighed. “Chen’s his partner, so she’ll be on guard duty until he’s released from the hospital. I’ll put Nolan on him too.” Cheyenne frowned at that...she had what she thought was a better idea. “No…” Tim and Sgt. Grey both glanced at her in surprise. She rolled her eyes. “Mumsy’s fine...but put Harper as guard too.” Sgt. Grey sighed. “And why would I do that?” Cheyenne grinned at him. “Because Harper is engaged to a Navy SEAL...one who’ll probably be hanging out a lot to visit with his wife since he just got back from deployment. Three guards for the price of two...can’t get better than that.” Tim tried to hide his smile as Sgt. Grey looked at Cheyenne. Tim couldn’t tell if Sgt. Grey was mad at Cheyenne for interfering, or if he was impressed with her suggestion. Sgt. Grey nodded, as he pulled out his cell phone. “Ok...so, Chen and Harper and her Navy SEAL fiance will be here on Wells. Monica will probably be in and out of here too...that should cover him until all this is resolved. I’ve got to get back to the station.” Sgt. Grey smiled and nodded as he walked out of the room. Tim and Cheyenne watched him go...and Tim gave her a fist bump. “Nice going, kid.” Cheyenne rolled her eyes. “That’s not my name...I swear, between you and Grayson, I’ll wind up going through the police academy with the name ‘kid.’” Tim smiled at her as Cheyenne frowned...she saw a tall brunette walking down the hallway, and the brunette was the spitting image of Grayson.

Cheyenne moved to block her from getting to Grayson as she worriedly looked at Tim. “Dad...someone’s coming. I don’t recognize her!” Cheyenne’s voice was barely above a whisper as Tim frowned at her. He walked out of the room and shut the door behind him. He blocked access to the door as the tall brunette stopped in front of him. She looked exhausted and worried and scared. Tim also noted she looked incredibly like Grayson. He wondered who she was. The woman stuck her hand out as Tim frowned at her. “Umm...I was wondering if you could help me, Officer?” Tim didn’t take her hand, and instead schooled his features into a carefully neutral expression. “I can try. What can I do for you, ma’am?” Andrea sighed as she looked at the police officer standing in front of her. “I think the man in the hospital room you’re apparently guarding is my brother. And I think I know who tried to kill him, and why.” Tim raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Who are you, ma’am? And who do you think is responsible for this?” Tears formed in Andrea’s eyes as she rapidly blinked them away. “My name is Andrea Adams. Senator Adams was my father...and I think my sister killed him, and is trying to kill the man who might be our brother.” Tim sighed as he fished out his cell phone, never taking his eyes off Andrea. He quickly glanced at his phone and pulled up Monica’s number, and dialed it. She answered on the third ring, and her voice sounded sleepy. “What have you got for me, Tim?” Tim sighed into the phone. “I’m not exactly sure, but you need to get down to Cedars, like now.” He hung up before Monica could say anything else. 

Thirty minutes later, Monica, Andrea and Tim were seated in the cafeteria. Monica looked like she was about to drop and was guzzling a large coffee. Andrea looked pale, like she was about to pass out. Tim had met them in the cafeteria once Lucy, Nyla and Jase had arrived at the hospital. They were now in Grayson’s room, along with Cheyenne, who was napping on the couch in Grayson’s room. 

Monica frowned at Andrea, trying to collect her thoughts. “Ok...let me see if I got this. Your father, Senator Adams, found out he was dying, and wanted to...ease his conscience shall we say. So he told you and your sisters about your brother, whom he had out of wedlock with another woman, while he was married to your mother. And he told you and your sisters that he was bringing in this long lost son of his into the will, and thereby the family fortune, and your oldest sister had a big problem with that?” Andrea nodded tiredly as she sipped her coke...she hated coffee. “Yes, that’s the gist of it. Dad was worth over five billion dollars. My sisters didn’t want to share. But while Caroline is mean, and selfish and greedy...other than complain about dad and his long lost son, she never did anything. Elizabeth, that’s our oldest sister, she’s the one that set all of this up. There’s always been something different about Lizzie...something not right.” Andrea closed her eyes, hating herself for betraying her sister, but someone had to put a stop to Elizabeth. Monica nodded, as she thought about everything Andrea just told her. “Ok...I get why she wanted to kill your dad. He had fucked around on your mom, which produced another child, and from the sound of things, he wasn’t much of a dad to you and your sisters. But why go after Officer Wells? He had nothing to do with this...it’s not his fault that your dad did what he did.” Andrea helplessly shrugged her shoulders. “I think it was the fact that he simply existed. Lizzie worshipped dad when we were little; she idolized him. Out of the three of us, she took his betrayal the hardest. She went from loving our father to absolutely loathing him. She threatened him to his face, multiple times. I think she saw Officer Wells as the face of our father’s betrayal. That...and she’s a selfish bitch who doesn’t like sharing. She didn’t want the family name tarnished, I guess.” Monica nodded...she’d dealt with families like this before, just not a well known political family. But in some of her cases, she’d dealt with the rich and powerful families whose thirst for wealth and power was matched only by their bloodlust. Monica guzzled more coffee as Tim spoke up. “So what now? I mean, we can’t arrest Elizabeth Adams yet...we only have the word of her sister of what she’s done.” Monica smiled at Tim...and Tim recognized that smile. “No, that’s not all we have.” She looked at Andrea, and frowned. “Ok...first thing we need to do is put you in protective custody, Ms. Adams. The minute your sister finds out you’ve talked to us, assuming she hasn’t found out already, she’s probably going to come after you.” Monica whipped out her cell phone and began making the arrangements. Tim glanced at Andrea. “Thank you for coming forward Ms. Adams. I’m sure it wasn’t easy.” Andrea shrugged at him. “Easier than you think. I know daddy made mistakes, but I loved him. And I couldn’t care less about sharing the family legacy or fortune...it’s not like there’s not enough to go around. The Adams’ have long been a dysfunctional bunch, going back several generations. I’m happy to wash my hands of them.” Tim nodded at her as he sipped his coffee...he knew a thing or two about family dysfunction. 

Meanwhile in San Francisco, Elizabeth was in Andrea’s office, staring out the window, and frowning. She watched the San Francisco Bay, and sighed. She knew Andrea was up to something, and Elizabeth was pretty sure she knew what it was. She had never liked her sister, Andrea, but she had loved her. And it hurt her deeply that most likely, at this very minute, Andrea was betraying her, and the family. Andrea had been out of the office all day, which was very surprising to Elizabeth, since Andrea was rarely out of the office. Andrea always stuck to her routine, so the fact that she hadn’t was very telling. Elizabeth knew she’d have to eliminate Andrea too, regardless of the fact that she was family. Elizabeth would do whatever it took to protect the family name and fortune...even if it meant getting rid of certain members of the family.


	7. Breaks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monica catches a big break in the case. Grayson hits the road to recovery faster than what people are expecting, and find out that Cheyenne yet again came to his rescue. Tim comes up with an interesting idea for who will lead the charge for his and Lucy's wedding planning, since he and Lucy can't seem to catch a break long enough to actually plan it.

Jase grinned at Monica, as she wolfed down a candy bar. They were all in Grayson’s hospital room. Jase took a sip of his coffee and bit into his breakfast sandwich. “I can take Grayson to my place. But I’m going to have to start charging if the FBI keeps using my place as a hideaway/rehab place for it’s injured personnel.” Monica shrugged at Jase. “Send that bill to the LAPD...it’s not my people that you’re having to protect and help recover.” Jase laughed at her. “True enough. But, Grayson can’t be moved yet, Rabbit. He’s not far enough along in his recovery. You could move him to a different room maybe, or even another hospital. But he still needs to be hospitalized.” Monica rolled her eyes. “I’m aware of that. There’s too much paperwork involved in moving him to another hospital. Besides, the best cardiac center in L.A. is at this hospital, and that’s what Grayson needs. He’s lucky his heart wasn’t damaged any more than it was.” 

Cheyenne frowned at that, and realized how close she’d come to losing Grayson. A tiny piece of shrapnel had made it’s way into Grayson’s heart. The surgeons had been able to remove it and repaired the damage. But had the piece of shrapnel gone even half an inch further into his heart, he’d be dead right now. Tim looked at Cheyenne then, and saw her roll her eyes. “I know, I know dad, I have to get back to school.” Tim nodded at her. “Yeah, you do. I promise I’ll keep you updated on everything.” Cheyenne nodded as Jase smiled at her, before he looked at Grayson. “You know dude, she saved your ass...again. I’d say someone has a guardian angel in the form of a very tall teenager who could probably wipe the floor with you.” Grayson narrowed his eyes at Cheyenne, who smiled at him. His voice came out raspy. “You saved me, kid?” Jase nodded, and elbow bumped Cheyenne. “Yep, she sure did. She clocked some woman who tried to poison you. Hit her hard enough that she put the woman on the ground with one punch.” Cheyenne blushed at the praise Jase was heaping on her as Grayson smiled at Cheyenne. “Nice going….kid.” Cheyenne rolled her eyes as Lucy glanced at her, before ushering everyone out of the room...she wanted to give Cheyenne a chance to say goodbye to Grayson in private. 

Grayson had had the tube removed from his throat a few hours ago and could finally breathe on his own again and talk...though he sounded like a frog when he talked. He held his hand out to Cheyenne, as she came over and grabbed it. “Thanks for saving my life again...kid.” Cheyenne smiled at him. “That’s not my name, and you’re welcome. Mumsy and dad are going to keep Sheeba until you’re better...I can’t keep her in my dorm.” Grayson smiled slightly at that as Cheyenne squeezed his hand. “I’ve got five papers due soon and several away games, so, I can’t come back here and save your ass again for a while...try to stay out of trouble until then. I’ll come visit you before that though.” Grayson nodded as Cheyenne bent down and kissed him on the cheek. Grayson pulled her tightly against him and closed his eyes, before letting go of her. She backed up from the bed as she smiled at him. “See you around, Grayson.” Grayson watched her go and smiled at her. “See you around, Kid.” Cheyenne rolled her eyes at him as she left the room, making him laugh, which made him wince, because it hurt like hell.

Tim looked at Cheyenne as she walked out of Grayson’s hospital room. “C’mon, I’ll give you a ride back to the house so you can pack. Mom and dad want you to stay with them next time you have a weekend off.” Cheyenne nodded as she hugged everyone goodbye. Sgt. Grey watched the two of them walk down the hallway together. He looked at Lucy and grinned. “You and Tim hit the jackpot with her, Chen. She’s one hell of an amazing girl.” Lucy looked at Sgt. Grey and smiled. “Yeah I know...and just think, she’s still a kid...sort of. Imagine what she’ll be like when she’s an adult...and a cop.” Sgt. Grey raised his eyebrows in surprise at that. “She wants to be a cop?” Lucy nodded and laughed. “Yep...for the LAPD. You might be her boss one day...sooner than you think.” Sgt. Grey grinned hugely at that. “I think I could handle that...barely.” He glanced at Monica then who had just gotten off the phone and saw a huge smile on her face. “Good news I hope?” Monica nodded excitedly. “Extremely good news. I have to go.” She kissed him goodbye as she hurried off. Monica had just gotten a big break in her case. One of her amazing crime scene techs had managed to pull a fingerprint off of the inside of one of the pieces of shrapnel that had been in Grayson’s heart...and they’d gotten a hit on the fingerprint. Monica hoped that person would lead her straight to Elizabeth Adams.

Tim sighed as he got out of the shower later that evening. Jase and Nyla were on guard duty at the hospital, through the night, and Grayson had been moved to a different room. Jase had sent Lucy home, telling her he was a better guard than she was anyway, and Lucy had jumped at the chance to go home...she was worn out. Grayson was doing better, though, Jase had noted, seemed down in the dumps a little bit since Cheyenne had left. Tim knew that Cheyenne and Grayson had a special bond, and he understood why...and he knew Grayson would never be inappropriate with Cheyenne in any way. But Tim had a sinking feeling that Cheyenne and Grayson’s story was just beginning. And he just wasn’t ready for that. He could barely accept that the girl who was basically his daughter was almost an adult now...probably because by the time he’d found out about her, she almost was an adult. He toweled off and brushed his teeth before practically falling into bed with Lucy. After getting Grayson settled in his new room and after seeing Cheyenne off, Tim had gone back on his regular patrol. Sgt. Grey had decided Chen could as well, as Jase had offered to help Nyla guard Grayson. The rest of the shift had been busy, but thankfully, with nothing more exciting than drunk drivers and fights. Tim sighed as Lucy snuggled into him. She frowned as she looked up at him. “What’s wrong, babe?” he looked down at her as he caressed her arm. “Life, I guess. Life just keeps happening, and we’re so busy living it, it seems like we don’t have time for any of it.” Lucy frowned at him, confused. “What are you talking about?” He sighed as he continued to caress her. “We live in a house that while it’s freshly renovated, it’s practically empty because we haven’t had time to shop for furniture. We still have two mortgages, which sucks, because we haven’t had time to put my house on the market. We’re supposed to be getting married, but we don’t have time to plan the wedding. We want to have a baby, but we don’t have the time to try and make a baby. It just feels like everything is starting to slip away from us.” 

Lucy looked at him, with a concerned expression on her face. “Supposed to be getting married? Are you saying you don’t want to anymore?” Tim rolled his eyes at her. “Did I say that? No, I didn’t. I just wish things would calm down some.” Lucy laughed at him, causing him to scowl at her. “This is perfect training for us, because once we do have kids, this will be about as calm as it gets. Most of the time will be some type of chaos.” Tim groaned and closed his eyes as Lucy laughed. Tim rolled on top of her and gently brushed her hair away from her face. “But there’s one thing you better get straight, and I mean right now, Boot.” Lucy frowned at the serious expression on Tim’s face. “What’s that?” Tim leaned down and kissed her, nipping her bottom lip, making Lucy moan. He eased back, but she could still feel his warm breath against her face. “I absolutely do want to marry you. And I absolutely will marry you, no matter what it takes.” Lucy grinned at him as he leaned back down and kissed her deeply. An idea occurred to him then, and he vowed he’d pull it off whatever it took. 

The next day, Tim had cornered Jackson in the break room...he had made sure Lucy was out on patrol, and wasn’t around for this conversation. He handed Jackson a thick notebook, as Jackson looked at Tim in confusion. “What’s this, Bradford?” Tim anxiously glanced around. “It’s Lucy’s wedding wish book. We’ve been so freaking busy with work and Cheyenne and the house that we haven’t had any time at all, to plan the wedding. I need you to make this happen for us, West.” Jackson’s eyes went wide with shock and excitement as he opened the notebook. He looked down, nodding at Lucy’s choices...or most of them. Then he glanced up at Tim. “Ok...and what about what you want, Bradford? I mean it’s your day too.” Tim grinned, as he glanced around again. “I don’t give a damn about anything except my soon to be wife. I could care less what kind of cake we have, or if there are flowers or not. Lucy’s got suggestions for all of that stuff. All I want is to see her walking down the aisle towards me...I don’t care about anything else. “He stopped himself then, as he just remembered a very important detail that he did indeed care about. “Oh, wait...actually, yeah, I do. There’s one thing I want, at the reception.” He pulled out his cell phone and texted Jackson the name of a song. “I want this song to be mine and Lucy’s first dance at the reception.” Jackson glanced down at his phone, and broke out into a broad smile. “Wow...excellent choice, Bradford. I’m surprised actually.” Tim frowned at Jackson. “Why?” Jackson laughed at him. “Because this is about as mushy and romantic as it gets.” Tim rolled his eyes and tried not to smile, but he couldn’t help it. Jackson looked around to make sure Lucy hadn’t surprised them...she was still out on a call apparently. “Ok...leave everything to me. Do you have a date in mind?” Tim shrugged and sighed...he and Lucy hadn’t even settled on that. “Well, she doesn’t want a summer wedding, I do know that. I guess it would be easier if it was after Cheyenne’s volleyball season is over...which won’t be until mid November, unless they make it to nationals, and then we’re looking at December.” Jackson noted the discouraged look that flashed across Tim’s face. Jackson grabbed Tim’s arm and gave it a squeeze, and Tim noted the excited look on Jackson’s face. “A Christmas wedding!” Tim started to shake his head before Jackson interrupted him. “No dude...not actually on Christmas, everyone’s got their family thing going on, or work. But like a Christmas theme wedding. You said Lucy doesn’t want a summer wedding, right? Well, she loves Christmas almost as much as I do.” Tim thought about that and realized Jackson was right. “Yeah...I guess that would be pretty cool.” Jackson glanced around then, and saw that Lucy was back in the station. He looked at Tim and smiled. “Leave everything to me.” Tim nodded, and sent Jackson a stern look. “Just remember...I’m not made of money, try and keep it reasonable.” Jackson nodded and hurried off with the notebook. Tim sighed and hoped he was doing the right thing.


	8. Risks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monica tracks down the person who built the bombs, and as always, gets her man (or in this case woman.) Grayson continues to recover, and gets advice from Cheyenne when he's the one who's reluctant to take a risk. And the team prepares for a wedding...but whose?

Monica was sitting across the table from a man named Cal Vaughn in an interrogation room. She’d dealt with this asshole before...and she knew how to get him to break. Monica sighed as she flipped through the file in front of her. “Really, Vaughn? You’ve been out of prison for what, like twenty minutes, and you’re already in trouble again?” Cal glared at her. “I’ve been out for almost a year, thanks. I ain’t done shit, you got no right to keep me here!” Monica sighed as she glanced at him before fishing out her cell phone, pretending to look busy. “Well, your fingerprint on a piece of shrapnel that we pulled out of the chest of an LAPD officer says that yeah, I can keep you here, as long as I fucking want to, so stop wasting my goddamn time.” Cal glared at her and Monica rolled her eyes. “You better start talking to me, Cal, and I mean right the fuck now. I know who hired you, I know why you were hired, and I can promise you, they have way better lawyers than you do, and if you think, for one single solitary minute, that they are going to go down for this instead of letting you take the fall for them, you better use the two operational brain cells you have and think again. They can and will let you take the fall for this, completely, unless you help me.” 

Cal rolled his eyes. “Elizabeth would never do that! She loves me.” Monica sat back and crossed her arms then, and smiled...and Cal swore. He knew Monica had him right where she wanted him, because of his big mouth. Monica’s smile went from friendly to ice cold in the blink of an eye and Cal squirmed under her icy smile. Monica sighed as she continued to stare at him. “Start talking...now.” Cal glanced away and sighed. It was either him or Elizabeth that was about to go to prison for a really long time...and it sure wasn’t going to be him. He nodded and slumped his shoulders as he began telling his tale. Monica shook her head as Cal poured his heart out to her, and she couldn’t help but feel glad for Grayson that he hadn’t grown up with the Adams’...talk about a fucked up family. With what Cal had given her, she knew they could work out a deal for him. He’d do some prison time...but not near as much as Elizabeth was looking at. What had sealed Elizabeth’s fate was what Cal had been smart enough to record on his cell phone, without Elizabeth knowing. He had recorded the entire conversation of Elizabeth hiring him to kill her father, instructing him how many bombs to build, and when she wanted it done. He’d also recorded a second conversation in which Elizabeth had asked him to hire someone to kill Grayson...and Cal had turned to his ex girlfriend who had lost her job as a nurse because of her drug habit, and all the drugs she’d been caught stealing from the hospital. Monica had warrants within the hour, and by the end of the day, Elizabeth Adams had been arrested for the assassination of her own father, and the attempted murder of an LAPD police officer. Her sister Caroline had also been arrested as an accessory. Andrea however had been given immunity as she’d been the one to alert authorities. All in all, Monica considered it another win. 

Six weeks later, Grayson was sitting at what had become his favorite place on Sunset Beach. He had recovered much faster than anticipated, amazing his doctors who called him the “Miracle Man.” He watched the sun as it got closer and closer to the horizon, and sighed. His life had gotten so fucked up, and he was damn tired of it. He was already back at work, but was on desk duty for at least three more months, which he hated, but he understood why. He petted Sheeba on her head as she sat next to him on the beach, enjoying the breeze coming off the water. 

He always came here when he needed to recharge or regroup, and after the last six weeks of insanity, he had definitely needed to regroup. He and Ruthie had broken up, and it hadn’t been pretty. She had come back from the wedding of her best friend ready to move in and get married, even though she and Grayson had only begun dating. They had had several bad fights about it, but in the end, he’d known that his heart definitely did not belong to Ruthie. They had had a painful breakup, but had eventually worked past that and had managed to salvage a deep friendship. 

And then there was Andrea...the sister he’d never met who had wound up saving his life. After Elizabeth and Caroline had been arrested, and Andrea had been released from protective custody, the media had swarmed. They were still swarming in fact, and Grayson was surprised none of them had followed him out here...they’d been hounding him for weeks wanting an interview. His answer was always the same...”no comment.” Andrea had reached out to him, once, but he wasn’t ready to meet her, and wasn’t sure he’d ever be ready to meet her. His thoughts drifted towards his father, and he couldn’t help but feel a loss. In the end, his dad had tried to reach out to him, and had even tried to warn him. But Grayson had blown that opportunity, and had kicked his dad back out of his life. He’d definitely have played that differently if he’d known that was to be his only opportunity to get to know his father. 

Suddenly Sheeba sat up quickly and jumped to her legs...she knew one of her best friends was close by. Sheeba turned around and began barking excitedly, and took off. Grayson rolled his eyes. “Damnit...Sheeba! Come back here!” He turned around and started to take off...and then stopped. There was Cheyenne, who had just been tackled to the sand by an extremely excited Sheeba. Grayson hurried over and yanked Sheeba off of Cheyenne. “Hi Kid...sorry about that.” Grayson frowned down at Sheeba, who was so excited to see Cheyenne. “Didn’t we talk about this, girl? NO jumping on people, no matter how bratty they are.” Cheyenne rolled her eyes as she shoved the to go bag she had saved from Sheeba into his hands and grabbed Sheeba away from him. Grayson looked down at the bag of In-N-Out and back at Cheyenne. “You made dinner for me?” Cheyenne rolled her eyes again. “No, I made dinner for me, you just got lucky they threw in an extra burger and fries. Just got back from a tournament in San Diego.” She and Grayson walked with the food and Sheeba back to where Grayson had been sitting, and they both sat down on the sand. Sheeba sat in front of them being the very best good girl she could be, trying to score some french fries. She looked adoringly between Grayson and Cheyenne. Grayson laughed at her. “Can I at least eat first? You know I’ll save you some, I always do.” Grayson pulled out the food, and started munching on fries as he handed Cheyenne a cheeseburger. 

Grayson sighed as he looked out over the water before glancing over at Cheyenne. “How’d you do in the tournament?” Cheyenne grinned as she took a big bite of the burger. “Champions...of course.” Grayson held out his fist, and Cheyenne bumped it with her fist. Cheyenne took another big bite of her cheeseburger. “I got MVP of the tournament.” Grayson raised his eyebrows at that. “No kidding? Wow, that’s really great, Chey. I’m proud of you...really.” Cheyenne rolled her eyes. “I guess. I don’t really care about that stuff...I just want to play.” Grayson nodded as he sighed, impressed with how humble she was about it. “I’m sorry I missed the tournament.” Cheyenne shrugged her shoulders. “No big deal...I’ve still got three seasons left of volleyball.” Grayson nodded as he munched on some fries, and finally shared some with Sheeba, much to her delight. “So, how did you find me?” Cheyenne laughed at his ridiculous question. “Oh please...I know you Grayson. I can always find you.” Grayson knew she always could, and always would, and somehow he found that comforting. “Ok...why did you come and find me...everything ok?” Cheyenne looked at him then and shrugged her shoulders. “You tell me...mumsy’s the one who sent me to find you. Said you were being weird, and not the usual smartass she knows and loves.” Grayson rolled his eyes at that. “I’m fine.” Cheyenne laughed and shook her head. “No, you’re not. But if you don’t want to tell me what’s fucking with you, that’s fine.” Grayson shook his head and smiled at her. “Is it?” Cheyenne nodded briskly. “Yep...but please do me a favor and unfuck yourself from whatever it is so mumsy will stop hounding me to check on you.” Grayson snickered and shook his head as he looked back out over the water. For some reason, he never seemed to have a problem opening up to Cheyenne, even when he couldn’t open up to anyone else...and he wasn’t ready to examine the reasons for why that was. 

He continued to stare out over the water as Cheyenne finished her meal. She grabbed her trash and stuffed it into her backpack, then got up and ran around, getting Sheeba to play with her. Sheeba chased Cheyenne up and down the beach as Grayson watched them. After about thirty minutes, Cheyenne flopped down on the sand next to Grayson, out of breath. “She’s almost as a good a workout as volleyball practice.” Grayson laughed as Sheeba flopped down beside him and laid her head in his lap. Cheyenne looked at him. “Are you ready to talk now? Because I don’t have all night here.” Grayson rolled his eyes. He actually was ready to talk...and so he did. “It’s Andrea...my sister. Damn, it feels weird saying that.” Cheyenne rolled her shoulders and cracked her neck as she looked at Grayson. “What about her?” Grayson sighed as he looked out over the water which was now turning shades of pink and red as the sunset colored it and the sky in glorious colors. “She wants to meet for coffee...I guess she wants to know me.” Cheyenne nodded in understanding. “And you’re afraid to connect with her because you grew up with just your mom, and no other family, and she’s a connection to the father who tossed you away. And you’re also afraid she’ll do the same thing to you that your dad did to you.” Grayson looked at Cheyenne in surprise. He frowned as he looked at her. “Umm...actually, you hit the nail on the head. How did you do that?” Cheyenne just laughed as Sheeba came to sit next to her, having grown tired of Grayson. “Because I know you Grayson, and I listen to you. Aren’t you the one who told me when I first came to L.A. to not expect the worst from people? You’re the one that told me to give dad and mumsy a chance...and look at us now. I’d say you need to practice what you preach. Besides, don’t forget, this sister of yours that you barely even know, she betrayed her entire family that she’d known and I guess loved her whole life, to save you, the brother she didn’t even know existed until just recently. That’s pretty heavy stuff dude...she’s got balls to do something like that, even if her family is nuts. It couldn’t have been easy for her. Give her a chance...she might surprise you.” Cheyenne glanced at her phone then, and swore. “Shit! I’m going to be late for the team party. I gotta go.” Grayson stood up then, and Cheyenne gave him a quick hug. “Let me know how it goes. See you tomorrow!” Grayson watched as she grabbed her backpack and slung it over her shoulder as she ran off. She turned quickly and waved to him and smiled, before she disappeared into the parking lot. Grayson shook his head and smiled...he knew who his heart belonged to, even if he couldn’t admit it yet. 

He sighed as he looked out over the water again...maybe Cheyenne had a point. Maybe he was blowing a golden opportunity to finally connect to the part of his family he’d never had a chance to know before. He pulled out his cell phone and called the number Andrea had left on his voicemail. Andrea answered it on the second ring. “Hello?” Grayson took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “Andrea...it’s Grayson. Umm...I wondered if you wanted to meet me for coffee, maybe tomorrow morning around 9?” Grayson smiled at he heard her shocked and surprised laughter, and he could swear he heard her trying not to cry. Looks like Cheyenne had been right...once again, not that he planned on admitting that to her. After meeting for coffee the next morning, Grayson had taken a selfie with Andrea and had texted it to Cheyenne. Cheyenne had responded saying she was always right, and it was about time he finally started listening to her. Grayson rolled his eyes as he saw her response. He responded he’d see her tonight at the wedding.


	9. I Do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a wedding...and an engagement!

Nyla took one last glance in the mirror, and took a deep breath. This was it...she was ready. Lucy handed Nyla her wedding bouquet and smiled broadly at her, as tears brimmed in her eyes. “Oh, Nyla...you look absolutely stunning.” Nyla beamed at her and pulled Lucy into a fierce hug. “All of this is happening because of you and Tim. I’ll never be able to thank you enough for bringing me and Jase together.” Lucy laughed as did Nyla. “Well...hopefully next time we bring two people together it won’t require a life and death fight first.” Lucy looked at Nyla then, and sighed. Nyla did indeed look stunning...but more than that, she looked happier than Lucy had ever seen her.

Nyla had her hair up, with a beaded headband in her hair, and her makeup was flawless. She had chosen a cream colored strapless dress that was covered in lace, and that hugged her slim figure and flared out at the end of the dress. The front wasn’t very revealing, but the back plunged. There was a very small train at the back. She wore sapphire earrings that Jase had made for his wedding present to her, and a sapphire and diamond necklace that had been her grandmother’s. The bouquet she carried was a simple bouquet of white roses...because a rose had been the first flower Jase had ever given her. 

Angela and Lucy were her bridesmaids, and they were both wearing strapless dresses that hit just above the knee...Lucy was in a lavender dress and Angela was in a dark blue dress, which represented the colors of the sapphires that Jase mined. Angela wasn’t quite showing yet in her pregnancy, but she was getting there. She laughed as she grabbed her bouquet. “This is probably the last time I’ll be wearing a dress like this for a while.” They took a selfie with Nyla and Lila, who was the flower girl for her mom, and hurried out of the room and went down to the ballroom of the hotel that was hosting the wedding and reception. The ceremony was short and sweet, with Jase looking as handsome as ever in his dress blues, with Tim standing as his best man. The room erupted into applause as Jase and Nyla were pronounced as husband and wife and he picked her up off the floor, giving her a deep kiss. His fellow Navy Sailors stood at attention and drew their sabres in uniform fashion and formed and arch over the aisle as Nyla and Jase took their first steps together as husband and wife. They walked up the aisle looking at each other and smiling, with Lila walking with them. It brought a tear to Tim’s eye as he saw how happy Jase truly was, and that Jase had finally found the love and family he had always wanted. 

The reception was in full swing, with the DJ currently playing an old song called “Tequila” by The Champs. The dance floor was packed, and everyone was laughing, and having a great time. Jase’s Navy buddies who were all in their dress blues were definitely keeping the party going. Nolan and Grace were boogying with two of Jase’s SEAL buddies. Wesley raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Damn...Nolan’s got rhythm!” Angela laughed as she drug Wesley out to the dance floor. “Nolan’s not the only one with moves!” Grayson was sitting at a table with Tim and Sgt. Grey, who were all sitting this one out. Lucy was on the dance floor with Cheyenne and Lila. Grayson laughed as he watched Cheyenne dance. “Well, Chey seems to be having a great time.” Tim nodded and grinned. “Yep. I think this is probably the first wedding reception she’s been to.” Grayson nodded at that, as Sgt. Grey looked over at Tim. “And when are we going to be at your wedding reception, Bradford?” Tim grinned. “Sooner than you probably think.” Sgt. Grey smiled as they watched the packed dance floor. He kept glancing nerviously at Monica, as Tim shot him glares...Tim sure hoped Sgt. Grey didn’t blow it tonight. Cheyenne was dancing with Lila, and Grayson couldn’t help but laugh. Lila was definitely the star of the show that evening, as several of Jase’s Navy buddies took Lila around for a spin on the dance floor. Tim rolled his eyes at Grayson and gave him a shove. “Just go dance with her.” Grayson rolled his eyes back at Tim. “I’m not dancing with anyone, especially your daughter.” Tim shrugged his shoulders. “Ok, but when she wipes the floor with you for standing her up with a dance the same way you’ve been standing her up for her volleyball games don’t go crying to Chen about it, because then I’ll have to hear about it, and I don’t want to hear about it. Besides, I trust you with Cheyenne, Grayson. I damn well don’t trust ANY of Jase’s Navy buddies with her, and look, three of them are already moving in on her.” Grayson glanced back at the dance floor just in time to see Jase’s Navy buddies approach Cheyenne. Grayson was out of his seat in a flash, making Tim and Sgt. Grey laugh. Sgt. Grey raised an eyebrow at Tim. “Bradford...what are you going to do when that actually becomes real?” Tim turned and frowned at his boss. “What? When what becomes real? You mean Cheyenne and Grayson...are you serious?” Monica laughed at Tim then as she kissed Sgt. Grey on the cheek. “I told you he was clueless.” Sgt. Grey smiled. “Yeah...I just didn’t realize how clueless.” Tim turned back to look at Grayson and Cheyenne then, and frowned. Was he missing something? Grayson strolled up to Cheyenne and smiled at her, and forced himself not to notice that she looked much, much older than 17. As well she should...she was almost as tall as Grayson, and she was athletically built. She smiled as she saw Grayson coming towards her. She gave him a quick hug and then crossed her arms, sending him a smug smile. “So?” Grayson rolled his eyes at her. “So...what?” Cheyenne gave him back an eyeroll. “So, how did it go with your sister?” Grayson couldn’t hide his smile. “It went great, actually. I really like her. And it makes me happy to know she’s not as fucked up as her sisters apparently are.” Cheyenne laughed at that, as Grayson turned his head to the DJ, who had just started playing Cupid Shuffle. He grabbed Cheyenne’s hand and dragged her on the dance floor...and away from the sailors who had been eyeing her.

Jase tugged Nyla out of the reception area and onto a balcony that overlooked the Los Angeles skyline. He was in his dress blues, as were several of his Navy buddies who had all flown in for the wedding. They were keeping the guests distracted enough so that Nyla and Jase could slip out for a few minutes. Jase cradled her face in his hands and kissed her deeply. Nyla smiled into the kiss and moaned as it heated up. Jase eased back and looked at her tenderly. “Well, Detective, you’re stuck with me now.” Nyla laughed at him as she pulled him back into a kiss. She sighed as she eased back and rested her brow against his. “Thank you, Jase.” He sighed against her. “For what, baby?” Nyla took a deep breath, and calmed her nerves. “For never giving up on me, even when I tried so damn hard to push you as far away as I could.” He laughed at that. “A walk in the park, baby. I knew when I first saw you there was no way in hell you were going to get rid of me. And as usual, I was right.” Nyla laughed as Jase kissed her again, deeply. 

Just then, they heard someone clearing their throat, and turned to grin at Tim. Jase raised his eyebrows. “Oh...shit, it’s time?” Tim nodded, and grinned. “Yep, c’mon, so you two don’t miss it.” Nyla frowned at Jase. “What are you two talking about? Miss what?” Jase laughed as he drug Nyla back inside the reception. “Let’s just say you and I aren’t the only ones that have something to celebrate tonight.” Nyla gasped. “Tim and Lucy….?” Jase shook his head. “Nope...just come inside and watch.” Nyla raised her eyebrows at Tim who just smiled at her as they headed back inside.

Everyone fell silent as the DJ took over the microphone and put on a the song It Had To Be You, performed by Harry Connick, Jr...he turned the volume down so he could be heard over the music. “Would Special Agent Monica Reynolds please step to the middle of the dance floor!” Monica frowned as she heard her name called. “What the hell?” She glanced around at Tim and Jase and Lucy who were all doing a very poor job of looking innocent, and her stomach dropped...something was definitely up and she seemed to be the only one not clued into it. She just stood there, as Tim rolled his eyes and took charge of the situation. Monica groaned as Tim dragged her out onto the dance floor. “You know, Rabbit, for once, you could just cooperate and do what you’re told.” Monica was trying to jerk out of Tim’s grasp and kept trying, and failing, to not make it to the dance floor. “Tim...what the hell is going on?” He turned to look at her and laughed. “Just cooperate and you’ll find out.” They reached the dance floor, and Tim stopped her right in the middle of it. “Ok...now you wait right here.” Tim started to walk away and Monica tried to follow. Tim turned around and pinned her in place with his best T.O. glare and voice. “I said park it, Reynolds!” Monica glared at him as Tim just smirked at her, and she stood where she was. She rolled her eyes as she watched Tim walk away, and glanced around as she began to see people breaking out in wide smiles, some of them gasping as they did so. What the hell?

She whirled at the sound of someone clearing his throat...and froze. There, in front of her, on one knee, was Wade, who had pulled an engagement ring out of his pocket. It was then that Monica had noticed that his daughter was standing at the edge of the dance floor, a big smile on her face. Monica gasped as tears flooded her eyes. Wade smiled at her as he spoke. “I never expected lighting to strike twice for me. I certainly never expected it to strike in the form of a much younger, smartass FBI agent who gives me hell more often than not. But it did.” He slid the stunning platinum diamond solitaire ring on her finger as Monica smiled down at him. “Please marry me, Monica.” She looked down at the ring as she heard Harry Connick Jr.’s melodic voice getting a bit louder...she had never thought of herself as the marrying type. She was always the job, and she had been ok with the fact that she’d probably never find someone that was ok with that. She got lost in her own thoughts as Wade raised his eyebrows and their audience leaned forward with anticipation. Tim rolled his eyes as Lucy laughed. Tim barked out her nickname in his T.O. voice. “Rabbit! Answer the Sergeant’s question!” Everyone laughed as Tim’s voice snapped Monica out of her thoughts. She quickly nodded her head as she bent forward and threw her arms around Wade’s neck. The room broke out into cheers and thunderous applause. Nyla, who was wrapped in Jase’s arms smiled. “Awww...that was so sweet Jase!” Jase just grinned. “Your boss asked me about a month ago if he could crash our reception with his proposal...I figured what the hell, why not? I like your boss...and after everything Rabbit has done for most of the people here, it just seemed like the thing to do.” Nyla spun around his arms and smiled at him. “That is one of the many reasons I love you, Jase. You always think of others.” Jase grinned as he leaned down to kiss her. “I do think of others...this is true. Like right now, I’m thinking of what you and I will be doing together in a couple of hours.” He kissed her deeply then, and Nyla was suddenly ready for the reception to end. Tim glanced over at Jackson and Sterling, who were excitedly discussing something, which Tim had a feeling he knew what it was. Jackson winked at Tim, before turning back to Sterling. Lucy frowned at them. “What in the world was that all about?” Tim hid his grin, barely, as he sipped his Old Fashioned cocktail. “Who knows...let’s dance.” He set his cocktail down on the nearest table and twirled Lucy out onto the dance floor.

THE END


End file.
